This invention relates generally to devices that respond to external stimuli, and more particularly to diagnosing issues of concern as pertain to such devices.
Various known devices respond in various ways to external stimuli. For example, movable barrier operators receive transmissions from remote control transmitters and respond by operating a movable barrier in specific ways (such as by opening the movable barrier to allow a user to pass thereby). Many such devices include safeguards to prevent unauthorized operation of the device and/or other devices or apparatus as are controlled by such a device. For example, a remote control transmitter usually includes at least a unique identification code within its transmission. The movable barrier operator will examine incoming transmissions and only respond externally to transmissions that include such an indication of authentication.
As various systems become more diverse and complicated, including movable barrier operators as used on a campus, apartment complex, military post, and so forth where hundreds of remote control transmitters are commonly required to interact with the operator, it becomes correspondingly more complicated to diagnose the cause of an issue when something doesn""t appear to be functioning properly. For example, it may be readily observable that a given transmitter does not cause the movable barrier operator to move the movable barrier in a desired fashion. Why such a condition exists, however, may be less clear. The possibilties in such an example can include: the battery in the transmitter is depleted; the transmitter is not presently registered with the movable barrier operator; the transmitter is presently registered with the movable barrier operator but is presently blocked; the transmitter is transmitting an unknown signal; the transmitter is transmitting a fixed code and the movable barrier operator is expecting a rolling code (or vice versa); and the transmitter is transmitting a rolling code that is not synchronized to the rolling code that the movable barrier operator expects to receive for this particular transmitter, to name a few.
Diagnostic equipment for most situations (including for the example provided above) of course exist. Such equipment can be expensive, however, or require highly trained personnel to effect proper usage. Further, such equipment can be expensive and/or cumbersome and hence may not be readily or conveniently available when seeking to address an immediate concern. In other cases where some self-diagnostic capability is provided, the user interface is often rendered difficult to access and sometimes even requires partial disassembly of the unit itself.